The Twilight of Fate
by RemnantFreelancer
Summary: AU where after season 15 episode 19 the drill/time machine that gets activated but it doesn't have the effect the Blues and Reds hoping for. It ends up sending everyone that had come in contact with the drill back in time, they merge with their past selfs but still retain all their memories. How will all these people react to all their achievements and failings being undone?
1. What is Happening Here?

**This is from the pov of Carolina. I hope you enjoy.**

Her head was pounding, like a bad hangover from cheap tequila. As she got up, something felt odd but her pounding head took precedence right now. She got up to get some medicine but tripped and fell. The fall shocked her, she immediately remembered the blue pillar of light coming from the mountain.

Dylan's words, "Oh no, we're too late."

All these things where clear in her mind now. She sat there on the floor with her chest tightening and her heart raced. She felt tears roll down her face as she realized where she was; her private quarters on the Mother of Invention. The date on the wall clock indicated it was a month before she would be sent to the canyon with the Blues and Reds.

Her first thoughts drifted back (or forward), to the time with the Reds and Blues. First, she has seen robots fighting dinosaurs, a fire started at a waterpark, scaring the crap out of the boys with their band, Sarge's war on gravity, her to her adventure in laziness with Griff which he deemed her unready. She had to give him credit for telling her that to her face, though.

She thought of all the people still alive, all of the freelancers: Church and Tex... and Biff. To go through losing her family, to gain them back again, she was so happy she couldn't contain herself, but for some reason it felt empty.

Now that world was in a weird combination of both the future and the past. Sitting there, she came to a realize, given her knowledge, she could prevent the horrors of the past, save her friends, never meet the Reds and Blues; or she could harden her heart and go through all that pain again. She found herself asking if that was the right choice."How idiotic," she thought, pushing herself up off the floor. Obviously, her time with the Reds and Blues has severely damaged her sanity, or at the very least her decision-making process. Saving the freelancers was the logical choice, then everything else would just fall into place. Saving the Alpha, saving Chorus, but something in her heart told her that she was fooling herself. She stopped, just now realizing she had gotten up and was pacing this whole time. Realizing if she had been this indecisive about something in the past, she would have been in the training room punching someone or something. Now, she was just calmly pacing thinking it through.

Before she could finish her line of thought on the matter, the door to her room opened. There stood York and North, exactly how she remembered them, " Hey South got stuck doing paperwork for her last mission that she had hoped the Counselor would forget about so you think you can take me and North in a little 2v1?" They didn't have their armor on yet. She didn't even think before grabbing them both and hugging them as tight a she could just to convince herself they were real, this was all real.

Freaked out by her sudden affectionate outburst, York looked at her concerned and asked, "Are you ok?" "Yea, Yea I'm fine. Completely fine. Fine. Let's go train." They knew her better than that in all the years they have known each other, she had never acted this way. Before she knew it ,she was sitting on her bed and York was beside her and North was sitting in the chair across the small room staring at her, waiting for her to tell them something.

Honestly, she was frustrated with herself. She was in the past a whole 20 minutes and she had already blown it. Those closest to her knew she was acting differently. What should she tell them? She didn't know if she wanted to lie to them. "I don't won't to lie to you," she started, "but I'm going to tell you up front, you probably won't believe me and whatever I say cannot leave this room. You just have to trust me." At the end, her voice fell like that was all that she had in that last sentence. That frightened York and North, but the readily agreed to her terms. So, Carolina proceed to tell them what would happen in the next 15 years, careful to leave out their deaths.


	2. My New Heart

Carolina had finished explaining the last 15 years, her retirement included. The story reminded her that she needed, no had to, go find Wash. Having Agents York and North understand what had happened and getting their help, will make them valuable allies in the future.

The guys were silent for a second, then looked at each other. York looked at Carolina with a blank expression, "Did we die?" Carolina paused for a second, how could he know that, it's not possible. "Did all the freelancers die, besides you and Wash? ...You stopped mentioning all of us except Wash at a certain point, it was a hunch and… you're easier to read now." Carolina couldn't help but mirror their sad smiles now they all knew each other too well to escape the truth. "Since you know the truth you can better help me make a decision on..." Her sentence got cut off by the intercom buzzing. "Agent Carolina."

"Yes, Carol?" she snarked. The secretary paused and Carolina could hear her stopping and starting before she finally spoke, "You have an... incoming transmission... from a Tucker at a sim trooper base? It's against protocol to patch them through to us, let alone acknowledge our existence, but apparently, he threatened to destroy our physical base that is on the planet their stationed on so they sent it through. Agent Carolina, I'm not sure what to think of this and the other communications unit in charge of the sim soldiers are also concerned, what do you think?"

Under her breath Carolina said, "oh dear lord." She paused for a second to make sure to constructed her response correctly, to protect the Reds and Blues… and herself. "It's probably nothing but you know how some of these sim troopers are. If you don't know, they can be extremely eccentric, some could even call them intelligent… in their own way. He DID threaten the base though. Patch him through, I'll stall him and you have Four Seven Niner ready an aircraft to go there. I'll be bringing a team with me." There was a pause before Carol scoffs, "You need a team to deal with sim troopers?"

Carolina blow up, "Carol, are you a freelancer!? No, you sit behind a desk all day and fuck people around the office!? Now, PATCH… HIM… THOUGH." She heard North mutter behind, "Well, there is the Carolina we know and love."

"Carolina?" She heard Tucker's voice say from the speaker, he didn't sound as angry as his threats were maybe he wore himself out? "Yes Tucker? What is it?"

"WHY THE FUCK AM I HAVING TO CALL YOU! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD IT IS TO GET AHOLD OF A SPECIFIC FREELANCER?"

"It's-"

"NO, YOU DON'T BECAUSE YOU'RE A GOD DAMN FREELANCER. SO, ALL YOU GOTTA DO IS SAY, 'HEY I HAVE TO SPEAK TO FUCKIN CALIFORNIA' AND YOU CAN FUCKING SPEAK TO THEM RIGHT THEN! I HAVE TO THREATEN TO DESTROY SOMETHING I'VE ALREADY DESTROYED, JUST TO GET TO TALK TO SOMEONE WHO SHOULD HAVE HAD THE _DECENCEY_ TO CALL ME FIRST BECAUSE YOU KNOW WHAT A PAIN IN MY ASS THIS WAS GOING TO BE…. bitch" York and North look at each other and they both say, "oh shit…" under their breath before looking back over to Carolina.

"Can I talk now Tucker?"

"NO, I'M NOT DONE YET. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I'VE BEEN THROUGH THE LAST THREE HOURS? DO YOU? WELL, NUMBER ONE: CABOOSE ISN'T HERE, THANK GOD. I WOULD HAVE KILLED HIM OTHERWISE, LIKE THAT WOULD HAVE WORKED, THE GUY IS LIKE A FUCKING COCROACH. NUMBER TWO: WHERE'S MY SWORD CAROLINA? WHERE IS MY MOTHER FUCKIN SWORD..."?

"Do you want me to- "

"AND NUMBER THREE WHERE IN THE HELL IS EVERYONE? I'M BACK AT MY OLD BASE WITH THESE LAME ASS PEOPLE AND THERE'S NOT EVEN A CHICK HERE!" In the background, they can hear a commanding voice saying, "Tucker! Personal phone time is over! Get back to cleaning the barracks, your mother can wait!"

York falls over on his back laughing. North covers his mouth, stifling his laughter, while Carolina smiles evilly and with a slight chuckle says, "Now Tucker, listen to your Daddy, and me and your uncles Wash, York, and North will come get you, ok?" York is now rolling on the floor laughing. Carolina could hear Tucker sighing, "God you've spent way too much time with us. Just come get me please before I start blowing shit up ok…please?" Carolina smiled, "Yes Tucker, you'll be first on the list, because you might die from threatening Freelancer headquarters." There was a pause on the other line, that wasn't like Tucker. He hadn't made an innuendo the whole conversation because he was upset but he had constantly been saying something, "Tucker, what's wrong?"

"Carolina, where's Washington?" She bolted upright, her head immediately began to pound. How could she forget about Wash? He was everything to her. If it wasn't for him, she would have completely lost herself. She felt immediate hatred for forgetting but stopped... he would have scolded her for that. Earlier, she was just trying to make sure things didn't get out of control in her mind but now she could go to him and nothing would stop her. "Don't worry Tucker, I'll get him and we will be there soon. I promise."

As she bolted out the door, she heard the transmission click off. York and North sprint to remain behind her. She made it to Wash's room long before them and barged in without knocking. He was still getting dressed and had his shirt half on. All the scars he got from the past 15 years were still there, all that pain and hardship he had been through. Wash quickly pulled his shirt down, blushing. "Carolina, what are you doing in here? Did I do something wrong?" Carolina couldn't help but smile, "Tucker called, he's freaking out we need to go take care of the rest of the Reds and Blues, Wash, get your armor on." Carolina turns around, there was a lot she needed to get prepped and ready before they left the Mother of Invention, and they might not get to come back. She didn't even know what they would do after this, she just knew she had to get to the guys then everything would start falling back into place. Wash pipes up, "Ok but I don't know what or who you're talking about."

Carolina stopped in her tracks. York and North were at the door by her, looking terrified. Her eyes were wide with fear, her thoughts started going rampant and erratic...no, no, no… this can't be! He had to remember what caused those the scars! They were proof that he had to remember his past, future, whatever the fuck you wanted to call it. She spun around, York and North came up close her side, recognizing the sudden shift in her temperament.

"How does your head feel Wash?" She tried to keep her expression calm but her voice gave away the urgency. She remembered how she felt this morning, she had felt like complete shit, like she had the nastiest hangover. Of all time. Wash reach up to his messy blond hair and rubbed it, it looked like he had been doing that all morning. There was a red mark from where he had been holding his head, "It's killing me to be honest with you." It wasn't his fault for not remembering. She looked at his face, all those scars, all that pain, his mind was just trying to be kind to him. She wanted to let him live in this nice happy life for a little while longer. Free from all that pain, but life isn't like that and she needed him, more than he could ever know.

That hit her like a freight train… she never needed someone until it was too late. She always cared for York more than she would ever admit but something felt different about Wash. She looked from York then back to Wash. This was different but she didn't have time to finish this line of thought. Wash hasn't remembered the past/future yet, that might have to do with the fact that he was not with them on the island with the drill, or the fact that he was so severely injured. She'd mentioned the Reds and Blues but that had done nothing but confuse him…she needed something that would touch him deeply, something that would jog his memory.

Suddenly, then weight in the pocket of her sweat pants reminded her. She walked up to Wash with such a purpose that it startled him and he falls back onto his bed and the others stepped back, waiting to see what she was going to do. So as not to scare him anymore, Carolina kneeled in front of Wash and grabbed his hands, cradling them in her own while reaching into her pocket. He was still in the mind state of a new member of elite freelancers and gun-shy. He stared at her wide-eyed and afraid of what she was going to do next, "Wash I need you to look at something and think and remember. It's going to hurt, a lot, and I'm so very sorry, but honestly, I need you to do this with me. I'm not patient and I don't know them like you. And these decisions we are going to have to make, we'll need to do them all together." Wash stutters, "Carolina, I don't know what you're-" as he was saying this she places York's lighter in his hands and gently held them open allowing him time to look and process. Wash's brows furrowed, thinking. She could literally see the gears moving and turning, all the memories that were unconnected now connecting, all the lightbulbs going off, then a tear started to roll down his cheek.

Carolina felt like the anti-Christ, someone sent to wreak havoc on good people. She jumped up and hugged him as tight as possible, she whispered quietly in his ear, "I'm so sorry David. I'm so sorry." She was crying some now as well. "You deserved a life like that I just didn't know if I could handle the Reds and Blues like you…and…and," she couldn't finish the sentence. She couldn't bring herself to. York and North looked at each other, then at Wash. Was Carolina crying? They didn't think she was capable.

Standing there, she loses herself in thought. She couldn't do this without him. Just as her mind was beginning to race, she felt Wash hug her back just as tightly. She blinked, remembering how Wash would laugh at her when she messed with the Blues with her singing, how Wash got his balls stuck on a grappling hook, how Wash grew a beard. She hears him whisper softly in her ear, "Thank you."


	3. Let's Get the Hell Out of Here

Carolina was comforted but confused by the fact Wash had thanked her. The peace it gave her, reminded her of the reason she came to his room in the first place. She would have to ask him later, they had to get out of this place and find the Reds and Blues. She slowly stood up, "we need to hurry. Tucker threatened to blow up Freelancer headquarters just to talk to me. I don't know how much time we have." Wash chuckled, "of course he did. Give me five minutes I'll meet you in the hanger." Wash smiled and then looked at North and York, ''Are you guys coming?"

Involving them in this mess needed to be their decision. Carolina turned to follow his gaze, looking at them both. She could tell by the look in their eyes that they still had questions; the earlier conversation with Tucker, what had just transpired between her and Wash, and there was some hurt in York's eyes. They were both battle hardened soldiers and thought fast on their feet. They had already started processing what would be best course of action as she said, "you know what happened to us and you know everything that is going on. I want you guys to come with us but I can't make out that check for you because I don't know where this path with take us. This is your life, your decision. I'm going to go get ready. If you two decide to come, meet us in the hanger in 5." Carolina walked past York and North before stopping, "if you are coming, don't be late. I don't plan on hanging around this place longer than I have to." She didn't give any of them a chance to respond or react as she strode away, deliberately.

It didn't take long for her get back to her room and get changed. Being in her old armor felt strange, made all those memories… and feelings come flooding back to her. She clinched her fists uncontrollably as she let out a grunt of anger. She didn't have time for this. She walked over to her foot locker where she kept a few weapons and took them out. Even though the armory was in the same room as the hanger, it wouldn't hurt having weapons on her person.

Carolina made it to the hanger in less than 3 minutes, arriving at the same time as Wash. She smiled sadly, knowing they still had a long way to go. They nodded at each other not wanting to bring attention to themselves and they split up automatically. She went to make sure Four Seven Niner had a good idea of what was going on and Wash headed to get as many weapons he can without much suspicion.

"So, what's the plan today? I just got a call that I was supposed to get ready and got some random coordinates. I just assumed Carol was being was being a dumb bitch." Four Seven Niner always understood what went on in the Mother of Invention even though she never got involved or cared. Carolina chuckled, "You know Carol. Anyways, we need to go take care of a sim trooper base causing more problems than they're worth. I need you to be ready to leave in about two minutes. Can you do that?" She made sure that her tone sounded like it gave her a choice but it didn't, and Four Seven Niner gave her an odd look. Four Seven Niner knew what Carolina did, but didn't know if it was on purpose. "Yea, I can do that," she turned and started prepping the spacecraft without pursuing the matter.

Carolina sighed, she hated manipulating her but she didn't want her knowing too much. It was the least she could do to protect her as a friend, kind of like she was trying to do for York and North. She felt a hand firmly grab her shoulder, Carolina jumped into action, reflexes taking over. She grabbed the arm that held her shoulder, twisting it as she came around, but when she came face to face with the person who grabbed her, she stopped. "Well that's some way to greet someone who's agreeing to help you." York hadn't even flinched from her trying to flip him over on his back. She hadn't gone through with the move but Carolina noticed she wasn't behaving right, well right for herself now. Being on the Mother of Invention again made her extremely jumpy and she hasn't had time to process everything else that has happened. She sighed, "I'm sorry, I'm glad you're both here," noticing North standing behind York. North walked up to her and patted her shoulder, "You haven't led us wrong before boss, and if we were going to die anyways, let's see were this path leads." He walks into the pelican and York follows him.

Wash walks up beside her, "Hey, I have everything I think we'll need. Are you ready?" Carolina smiled, "Yea, let's get the hell out of here."


	4. Meet Bob

As Carolina and Washington got onto the pelican she noticed he had basically loaded it up with the maximum amount of weaponry and ammo he could. She just turned and looked at him. As the back doors closed, he threw his arms up and defensively said, "WHAT?" She just started laughing uncontrollably and said, "nothing just glad to see that your paranoia is healthy."

"Ha ha ha, very funny Carolina. You won't be complaining about it when shit goes south." Carolina just shook her head, "Just tell Four Seven Niner to get us out of here before Tucker threatens to blow something else up." Wash shakes his head and heads to the front of the pelican. Fer a few minutes, Carolina feels the familiar hum and whine as the ship changes direction and pitch as they ascend and get on course.

A few moments later, Wash comes to the back in a hurry and whispers so only the freelancers can hear him, "I forgot to remind you, did you turn your recovery beacon off? We don't need them tracking and finding us too soon." Carolina had completely forgot, of course Wash had remembered. After all ,he was on the recovery team. The whole idea of being track bugged the crap out of him. "We can turn those off? I thought those were like hard-wired into the technology of the suits?" York was right, that's why they had to take the suits off to turn off the beacon, but before she could convey this to him Delta popped up. "Actually, Theta and I can bypass the hard-wired system and turn off the beacon and keep it off." York turned to the small holographic green soldier, "well it's nice of you to join us D, have you been enjoying the show?"

"You seemed to be operating within normal parameters York-"

"That was sarcasm D we've talked about this."

"Oh, would you like me to turn your recovery beacon off?"

"That would be lovely D." At this point York was rubbing his helmet, like that would make his head feel better. Theta came out and asked after shuffling his feet anxiously, "North do you want me to do that too?"

"Please Theta, Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Theta disappeared.

As Theta went away, Delta brought up another point, "This still leaves agent Carolina unaccounted for, since she is without an AI, her recover beacon will have to be turned off manually." York stopped rubbing his helmet and looked up at Delta, "What does that mean?" York and North have never had to do this before, they were both looked slightly concerned while their eyes flicked between Delta, Wash, and Carolina.

Carolina got up, "It means all of you go to the front of the pelican and if I see any helmets back here, I'm bashing them in. Got it?" Wash was already half way to front as he shouted back, "You know, I'm the one that knows how to turn it off, right?" Carolina didn't answer until York and North were up there with Wash, "I'll throw it up there when I'm done." The guys looked at each other and at the small space in the cabin, "Carolina there isn't that much room up here, it doesn't make much sen-"the doors shut half way through Wash's sentence. Wash shrugged and sat down on the floor. A couple of seconds went by and the door opened for a split second as Carolina slid her helmet across the floor. It just took a couple of seconds for Wash to fix it and then sit it by the door for her to retrieve.

After Carolina came back to the front of the pelican, everyone was huddled around Four Seven Niner discussing something that looked important. "What's going on?" North turned around, "We're being hailed by an unknown ship that isn't using anything type of clearance Four Seven Niner knows." Four Seven Niner pipes up, "It makes no sense! It's like they are just pressing fucking buttons!"

Wash and Carolina look at each other, "No way…" they say simultaneously. Four Seven Niner looks at them both, "What? Do you know an idiot who would fly around in space just pressing buttons?" Wash sighed, "Carolina, what you think? Did he make friends with the spaceship, have it fly him, and he's been pressing buttons when it told him not to? Or did he annoy his superiors to the point they sent him away and he's just been pressing buttons up until this point?" Carolina put her finger up her lip thinking, " I'm going to have to go with choice number two, especially after hearing about commands keyboard shortcut for reporting his team kills" Wash nodded his head, "Good argument, I'm going to go with one because of freckles." Carolina nod, "Ahhh good point." Four Seven Niner just looked back and forth from Wash to Carolina like they were psycho, "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU GUYS EVEN TALKING ABOUT… HAVE YOU GONE COME COMPLETELY INSANE?" Wash looked at Carolina to get permission to take the call, she nodded her head, "Put him through"

Four Seven Niner started whispering under her breath at that point, _"Jesus Christ these people are crazy."_ She got the transmission ready to send to the ship, "This is Four Seven Niner do you copy?" Silence. "This is Four Seven Niner, do you copy?" Wash leaned next to her, "Try saying, 'Hello my name is Four Seven Niner, what is your name?'" Four Seven Niner squints at him in confusion," That is retarded, why?" Carolina climbed up into the seat about her to enjoy the show, "Just trust him, ok?" Four Seven Niner throws her hands in the air, "What happened to you two? You guys are speaking some kind of weird language." She turned around to face North and York, "are you guys really ok with this?" They both nodded their heads. "I don't get paid enough to do this." She turned the transmission back on and took a deep breath and gritting her teeth she said, "Hello, my name is Four Seven Niner, what is your name?"

To Four Seven Niner's amazement someone answered. "Hello! Four Seven Niner my name is Michael J. Caboose but you can just call me Caboose, everyone else does… I am lost and I'm looking for my friends, can you help me?" Wash turns the transmission on to his helmet so he can talk to him. "Hey Caboose…"

"AGENT WASHINGTON! YOU'RE ALIVE! I'm so happy I was scared… I didn't think you would be the first person I would find!"

"Carolina's with me too"

"OH MY GOD CAROLINA" Carolina turned on her the transmission in her helmet and said warmly, which surprised everyone except Wash, "hello Caboose, are doing ok?"

"YES! GUESS WHAT! I MADE A NEW FRIEND! Well when the drill went off… all the sudden I was back with my old unit… and they were never very nice to me… and they started yelling at me like they always did… and it was making me sad… then I remembered how I talked to Shelia… so I went out and found Bob and Bob is very nice. Do you want to meet Bob?"

Wash looks at Carolina, "I would love to meet Bob, Caboose. He sounds amazing!" Carolina grumbles, "yea, yea you win."

"Yea he's really great but Agent Washington he's been kinda sleepy lately. Can you come here?"

"Yea Caboose we'll come get you." Wash turns off his transmitter, "Hey can we track his location?"

They reset their trajectory and in a couple of minutes found a pelican on fire with Caboose standing on the roof. Four Seven Niner looked at him, "When did you meet someone like that?" Wash laughed, "That's a long story."


	5. Time

**Sorry for the long chapter guys I wasn't sure where to split it. Enjoy!**

"How in the hell in that even possible?" York was just confused at this point. "I've learned it's better not to ask questions, they just lead to headaches. So how are we going to get-…" Wash was interrupted mid-sentence by Carolina, who fired a grappling hook at Caboose which ended up wrapping around his waist. Wash, dumbfounded in his confusion to the situation, stood there speechless. He glances back and forth between Caboose and Carolina while York and North try their best to fight off laughter.

"WHAT THE HELL, CAROLINA?! WERE YOU PRACTICING THIS SPECIFIC THING?"

After Carolina helps Caboose onto the ship, she lengthens the slack of the grapple's rope perfectly to spin it over her head. "I've had time to practice. Besides, you were being so whiny then." You could hear smile in her response. With almost reflexive speed, Carolina whips the grappling hook around Wash's waist, "Feel better now, Wash?" Wash just crosses his arms as he pouted: "No." Carolina laughed as Wash wrestled his way out of the grappling, embarrassed by his predicament.

Caboose finally comes over and hugs Wash, "HELLO AGENT WASHINGTON!" "Hello, Caboose. I'm glad you're okay." "ME TOO! I hate fires. But… they seem to really like me, though!" Caboose turned his head; "AGENT CAROLINA!" Caboose walks over to Carolina, stopping only inches from her as she finishes helping Wash out of the tangled mess. He puts his hands up, "Agent Carolina I'm going to give you a hug, now. Please don't throw me over a cliff." Carolina releases a labored sigh. "You can give me a hug, Caboose. "YAY! I LOVE HUGS!" Seeing Caboose hug Carolina, North and York both give a puzzled look toward Wash, as if waiting for the answer to a riddle. "Caboose tried to give her a hug about a year ago. Unfortunately, he came at her from behind. To no surprise, it ended with him being thrown off a cliff." As Caboose picked up Carolina, it was clear that she was not pleased. "That's enough, Caboose." York seemed even more confused at this point. "How is that guy even alive?" Wash shrugs. "Oh, he's survived plenty of cliffs. I guess he's just extremely resilient. Best advice I can give you about Caboose is just to accept things and don't ask questions. Seriously."

Caboose had finally been convinced by Carolina to put her down. He approaches Wash, curious about the company they brought along. "So, Agent Washington we have new friends?!" "Well...," he was about to argue but then remembered who he was talking to, "Yes, Caboose. New friends. This is Agent York and Agent North, but you can just call them York and North. They have AI units as well." York stepped up first, "Hey Caboose, I'm York. It's nice to meet you. And this…" Delta appears on York's shoulder. "This is my friend-" Before he can finish, Caboose cuts in. "HELLO, DELTA!" York, once confused and in disbelief, looked to wash. "How does he know D?" Wash explained, "Yeah… he met him in the future where Project Freelancer was demolished and…" York finished, "And when we died?" North, trying to ease the tension, stepped up to Caboose, "Hey, Caboose! My name's North, and my friend here is Theta. I don't know if you've met, but… hey Theta come out here." Caboose then yells when he comes out, "Ohhh myy GOD! HE'S PURPLE!" North just chuckled, "He sure is!"

Four Seven Niner yells from the front of the ship, "CAN WE GO NOW? Jesus Christ!" Carolina just smiled, "Ok everyone, get harnessed up." North still had Theta out, and Caboose was still very interested in him so him so he sat beside him. Carolina and York sat across from them, entertained by Caboose's fascination. Wash, still flustered and embarrassed by Carolina's grappling hook fiasco, sat next to North. He wasn't angry. In fact, he kind of liked it. With York present, however, he wasn't sure what to make of the entire situation; what Carolina wanted. As Wash pulled his harness down, he asked 479er, "How long will it take to get there?" "Oh about 30 minutes", she replied. "Shit", he thought. "Hey, North. Caboose doesn't do well on long trips. You should have Theta show him his trick!" North sat with a blank expression for a moment, but then understood. "Oh! You mean the fireworks!" "I'm not supposed to play with, or be around fireworks, it gives Agent Washington headaches and he says he only needs one person setting random fires," Caboose quickly adds. Both North and York look at Wash, Carolina, and Caboose for a second. "If he can't have explosives, why does he even have a gun?!" York exclaimed, points Caboose's rifle. Caboose grabs his weapon and holds it possessively. "Oh, this is Freckles! Since we are leaving for battle, I wanted to bring him with us. So, I turned him back into a gun. Wanna see?" He points it at Carolina and pulls the trigger as both York and North yell, "NO!" Confetti flies, relieving the panic of Carolina's peril.

"Like I said, just accept it and don't ask questions." Wash continued as York was still trying to collect himself. "But before we get distracted again, fireworks?" "Oh yea! Hey, Theta. Why don't you show Caboose your fireworks?" Theta looked shy, "I don't know, North. I made them for you." North looked at him tender, "It's okay, Theta. Caboose is really nice, don't you think?" "Fireworks are my favorite! If I could, I would fire them every day! Agent Washington says he can't afford for me to do that though." Theta brightened a little, "These aren't made of fire, so they won't do that." "They don't! That. Is. So. AMAZING! You have to show me." Theta turned on his fireworks and started showing Caboose. Caboose and Theta continued to entertain each other as the trip continued.

"I never thought I'd see Theta act like that," York said to Carolina. It was the first thing that just the two of them, she had been pushing everything to the back of her mind this whole time and acting like it was just her and Wash like normal. That isn't normal anymore, times change. This time, time had literally changed. She shook her thoughts out of her head, "Act like what?" "Outgoing. He's really found a friend in that Caboose guy. Carolina chuckled, "Yea, Caboose has a way with AI. He's also easy to impress. A winning combination, for sure." North looked at York. He could tell that he had something on the tip of his tongue, and was looking at Carolina. It'd be a problem if Wash heard or tried to get involved. He didn't know how Wash would act now, he still acted like the same kid sometimes but he had obviously not been able to process the events they've recently been through.

*These next two events take place at the same time on each side of the pelican*

A distraction seemed appropriate. He wanted more information anyway. "Hey, Wash. Can you clear something up for me?" North tried to keep his voice low to not distract Theta and Caboose from their fun. Wash looked at him funny, "I'll try but I'm not gonna promise anything. Carolina swears I lost half my brain cells being around these guys so long." They both laughed. North waved his hand in the air, "Nah, I'm sure you're fine. But seriously, though…Carolina told us you were a part of the recovery program trying to keep our tech in house, but some nasty shit went down." Wash looked down, as if avoiding a direct response. "Yeah, you could say that." "Carolina couldn't bring herself to say it, but that meant that if we were dying then you came to save us or to take the tech. If that weren't possible, blow it up." North wasn't angry, he was just speaking with logic. Wash knew this, but it still stung. "North, I-" North put his hand up slowly. "Wash, you were following orders and trying to survive. York and I already know that we die in the future. The future that you and Carolina both came back from. I'm curious, though. How did I die?" Wash sighed. The one question he was hoping to never have to answer. Ever. "North, I promise you, knowing will not help anything." "Yeah, let's just see. Okay?" Wash sighed and started looking around. Caboose was having Theta make puppies with fireworks. Carolina and York were having an intense conversation as well. Through the doorway he could see 479ner, who wasn't paying more attention to flying than to his conversation with North. 'Oh well', Wash thought. He knew that North deserved to know. Just like 479er deserves to know who she's working for and who she's flying. Wash continues to tell North the story he had heard about what Agent Maine, who was a vessel being used by the Meta at that point, did to him. He also explained how South had sacrificed him so that she could escape. "I'd like to say it was no one's fault. That not one was to blame, but… looking back, there was definitely someone to blame."

"Carolina, I need to ask you something." As York was looked at her, she could feel his eyes peering through their helmets. "What's that?" She knew exactly what. She wasn't dumb…she had just turned off her filter on things. Let things go. All her time with the Reds and Blues has taught her at least that much. If she spent too much time thinking about it, she wouldn't have been able to act on the dime. Or at least that's what she was telling herself. "You know what I'm asking, but what's going on with you and Washington. I mean, I saw it on the Mother of Invention. Carolina, when he had forgot… I saw your heart break completely. Neither me or North knew what to do. And when you brought his memories back you felt so awful about it. You even cried. I can count on one hand how many times you have cried. You called him by his real name, then begged for him to forgive you. But you were also so happy. There have been very few times I have seen you that happy. Then a little bit ago with the hook. I just want to know what's up."

The frustration in his voice was evident. However, the parts where he talked about her happiness... She had known him long enough to recognize that that alone made him happy. She always knew that, but with everything else he was saying, it was still nice to hear. Carolina sighed as she looked at Wash. He was watching Theta and Caboose with North. She decided to just speak her mind to York. Maybe that will help clear her head, "After what happened to me when Tex showed up. I became…a monster. I didn't even know it until years later. The things I said and the things I did were horrible. The way I valued things and the way I treated the things I valued was horribly warped. I went asking for help from Wash, the Reds, and the Blues. And then… then I treated them, like my pawns. Even Wash... but even after everything I did that to them, they still saved my life." Carolina paused, looking at her hands, remembering, "It's been just me, him, and the Reds and Blues for so long. There were times I left because I didn't feel good enough to stay. They, he, saved me every time I got hot-headed and tried to go it alone. Taught me that it wasn't such a bad idea to have friends and a family again. Taught me…Taught me that I didn't have to throw away my past to have a future."

York chuckled a little bit, "You two are better but damn how can you still be so thick?" " _Excuse me?_ " "Carolina I've loved you since that day in the bar." York sighed kind of hopelessly, "Going from seeing you almost train yourself to death one day to you making jokes, crying, being hopeful, making bets, and even laughing. An honest laugh, Carolina. I haven't heard you laugh like that since Illinois challenged you to a drinking game." Carolina thought about it. He was right. Wash and the Reds and Blues had taken away all her hard exterior she had put up over the years, "It wasn't all Wash, the Reds and Blues had a lot to do with it. I mean, I even had lazy lessons." York laugh hysterically, "I still don't believe that. But it was mostly Wash. I almost think he could talk you out of a murderous rampage if you got in one now. Honestly, I doubt you would now unless someone hurt any of those guys." York seemed melancholy. Carolina reached her hand up and put it on his shoulder and said, "Or you guys." They sat in silence for a moment watching Caboose give Theta ideas for his fireworks. Then she interrupted the silence, "I think you're right…there is more there than either one of us admit. We've lost too much to get that close to something and have someone we cherish that much. Neither one of us could mentally survive that kind of loss. It's better- " "Carolina I swear to God you finish that sentence I will smack you."

She was speechless York was not one to threaten in that tone especially her. "Carolina there is a literally a saying 'it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. Or… something like that. End of discussion." She sat there for a minute. She was just going to end the whole discussion; never talk about Wash again. But that left the barn door wide open. "I'm kind of confused about how you feel about this, then." York leaned into the seat, "I wish I was him, of course. Sure. But like I said, I love you and I want you happy. Wash is like a little brother to me, so his happiness matters too. I won't be throwing a parade, but if you could avoid that grappling hook thing again? That'd be great," he chuckled a bit at that last part and so did she. "Okay, York. I won't. Thank you."

Wash is yelling now and everyone seems to be listening to him now, but he doesn't notice, "We were guinea pigs to play with, North! The counselor **_knew_** your sister's jealous personality, yet held back on giving her an AI time and time again! But how would that make a twin feel?" He was fuming now, Wash was never one to get angry like this he was the calm one, but now they were going to have to start over with all the enemies still alive. At that moment, the pelican's an alarm sounded, but only lasted for a few seconds before going quiet once more. Carolina yelled, "Um, 479ner? Care to share with the class what's going on?" "What do you think? I'm deserting with you guys. You're getting nowhere without me anyways. I may have treated South kinda rough, but I like her spunk. To know that they are treating her and the rest of you like that? Really grinds my gears." Carolina smiled inside her helmet, old friends and new friends coming together. She looked over at Wash he seemed to calm down, it didn't really seem like anger now that she thought about it…more like passion, he has the chance to change the future. Maybe this will work. All they need to do is find everyone. 479ner piped up again, "Oh, hate to kill the mood but we're here and it looks like things might be a little hot down there." Carolina looked at Wash, both saying, "Of course it does."


	6. Operation Tucker

"It looks like they have barricaded the blue base really heavily. And very recently, like in the last hour." North observed. Carolina thought along with her own timeline, that was around the same time they found Caboose, right after they turned their recovery beacons off. "They know something isn't right. Perhaps we turned off the beacons too soon." Wash looked at her, "you think they called ahead and told them a bogus story? It's still 4 freelancers against a base of blue sim troopers it's not really a fight." Carolina thought for a moment, then North interjected, "what if they don't want to stop, they want to stall and observe. See why we're doing this and hopefully get someone here before we leave." That made sense... but they had to get Tucker out of there, she looked at Wash. He seemed calm but with his helmet on there wasn't much to go on, she could still see some stiffness in his shoulders.

She sighed, trying to think of a game plan. Four freelancers going down at once would spook them even more than necessary, making talking with them harder. She shook her head, she was over thinking all of this, the heart to heart with York had her head spinning. "Wash, you're with me, we're going to talk to the commander unarmed, get some answers, and get Tucker all in one shot hopefully. York and North watch Caboose." Before they have time to argue she walks to the back and starts opening the doors, Wash gets up and follows her, "Caboose stay here with York and North ok?" Caboose replies cheerfully,"OK" Carolina exhaled slightly, at least he was in the moment enough to remind Caboose to stay. She was still worried about him after he had gotten upset but if the director had figured out something was up with them they had to act quickly.

479nr brought them down low enough to where they could just jump out. Afterwards, she landed the pelican between the two bases just out of range. "Are you ready?" Carolina felt bad for waiting until now to ask but he stopped her negative thoughts by replying, "Yea." He didn't sound very sure of himself. She knew he didn't feel completely ready but was aware of the time crunch they were under. She put her hand on the back of his shoulder, he let out a long breath, "come on," she said, "let's get this over with."

They walked toward the barricade when suddenly they heard, "HAULT! WHO ARE YOU? AND WHY ARE YOU HERE?" They put their hands up. Wash looked at her, "So fearless leader, what's the plan?" She scoffed, at least he's joking again. "Well why don't we try the general truth?" Wash scoffed,"You're the boss." Carolina stepped forward. "I am Agent Carolina and this is Agent Washington. We are both freelancers and friends of private Lavernius Tucker. I am the one he contacted earlier and we are here to take him into protective custody at his request. We both came out here unarmed as a sign of good faith."

They stood there waiting for what seemed like hours. Then a blue soldier came out from the barricade with his helmet under his arm, his soldiers still trying to argue with him. He put up his hand to silence them, it took a second but they took the warning. He was an older soldier, which was probably why he was a sim trooper and not a regular. Walking up to Carolina and Wash he let out a sigh, "take off your helmets and put your arms down, i want to see private Tucker's 'friends'." They didn't quite understand what the old soldier was getting at but they complied and mirrored what he was doing with his helmet. He smiled looking at them both, "I talked to Tucker before coming out here, I have been trying to get him to tell me the truth about that call earlier all day especially after command called me and said rouge agents were coming to take and kill him. He clammed up on me, hence he barricades. I told him two people were here to see him and if he could tell me who they were and tell me the truth about the call, I'd let him out." He looked up at Wash and Carolina and pointed at them. "Y'all were his first guess and he told me everything, it's hard to believe but he speaks with a lot of passion that I've never seen in him. To see such a fresh recruit wake up one day and be battle hardened like he's lost so many friends. It makes the story believable. Now he didn't tell me anything really, I just know he is not the same soldier I was training yesterday. I am just trusting Tucker's word over command's."

Wash was the first one to speak, "There is still a problem though isn't there? Or he would be out here and we would be gone." The old soldier said nodded, " You are correct. If i let all of you go without a fight and command comes here and see what happened or didn't happen, what will do to me and my men? I believe you two are the best to answer that question." That was an easy question, but a hard answer, Carolina thought, they would be killed. If it didn't look like they put up a fight. But all simulation areas were monitored so their interaction right now would be too. She sighed, "it always comes down to a fight," slowly rubbing her temples. The old soldier chuckled slightly, "I came to that conclusion myself. Thank you for this though, I now know you are friends of private Tucker's and you won't kill us. So how shall we start this little battle? I assume you need to leave as quickly as possible?" Both Wash and Carolina smiled at the old man, he was a brilliant soldier. Carolina gave him a menacing glance, "WELL AT LEAST I DON'T HAVE DEMTINTIA" Wash's jaw dropped, he knew they had to make a scene for the camera's and other troops but…damn. The captain's eyes went wide for a second then narrowed and he slapped her. She didn't move or try to block he even though both men knew she was perfectly capable of killing him for doing that. Holding still for a second, she turned and started walking away. Wash sprinted to catch up.

"That is the only person that will ever live that has slapped you." she rubbed her cheek slightly and chuckled, "Probably, he didn't hold back any." After going back to the pelican and explain things to North and York, they gathered weapons and had their brief battle with the sim troopers. They only shot to hurt them and not seriously. Apparently, the captain had not told his soldiers because they seemed to be fighting for their lives, that made the fight more believable though and the captain had done that to protect them. After they finished taking everyone down, North and York tied everyone up while Carolina and Wash got Tucker.

They found him in a little room at the end of the hall tied up, "WHAT THE HELL TOOK YOU TWO SO LONG!" They exchanged glances, Wash was the one to answer, "We had some problems to deal with." Wash untied Tucker and right after he got up, Carolina punched him clear across the room. "JESUS CHRIST CAROLINA WHAT WAS THAT FOR?" Tucker wasn't getting up quick but he was yelling loud enough for the guys outside to hear and they were already laughing. "That was for calling me a bitch" Wash winced "Damn it, Tucker you know better, but Carolina did you have to hit him that hard?" She had hit him hard enough his head bounced against the concrete wall, he was going to need help walking. "What do you think Wash?" She brushed off her hands and walked outside. Wash walked over to help Tucker up, "You totally deserved that and more you're lucky to be conscious."

"I know."

"No, seriously your captain also slapped her so you are so lucky to be alive right now."

They walked outside beside Carolina, Tucker is awestruck at the site of the whole base incapacitated, not knowing what just happened, Carolina stops him before he can start freaking out, "We'll explain in a second, but for now they are alive none of them are going to die but we have to get out of here, now." 479nr lands the pelican in front of them and the door opens. York and North are inside with Caboose as they load up. As they take off Tucker says, "Oh god, Carolina I think you hit me too hard I'm seeing Caboose."

"No Tucker, I'm here."

"Carolina, I'm serious now I'm hearing him, I know you're not so cruel as to get Caboose right before getting me even if I called you a bitch." Tucker gasped, "Wait, you got Caboose just because I called you a bitch, you are truly heartless." Carolina laughs, "Actually Tucker, Caboose found us." She then explained how Caboose ended up in space. Tucker just nodded, "Makes sense, so where are we going now?" 479nr yells from the front, "I was just about to ask the same thing!" Carolina looked at Wash, "Well there aren't many places to hide that the director and project freelancer don't already know about. Got any bright ideas?" Wash sat there and thought…"There is one place… the best hiding place ever thought of and they haven't even thought of it yet so I think it be perfect." She was thoroughly confused now, she had no idea where he was talking about. It just sounded like it was speaking in riddles. Wash turned to Tucker and Caboose and said, "How would you two like to go home?" Tucker: "Fuck no." Caboose: "Yay!" Carolina realized where he was talking about then, it was the perfect hiding place, because it wasn't picked out yet, Blood Gulch. She smiled, "Sounds good to me."

Wash walked to the front and gave 479nr the coordinates. Carolina walked over and sat down by herself next to the door. Caboose was still glued to North well Theta and North, Tucker, and York were getting to know each other. She was already so exhausted. Today had been tiring though so much has already happened and she hasn't had a chance to really stop. Wash came back and sat down next to her, "She said it'd take about 10 minutes we're actually very close. There won't be any bases there or anything like that but some of the caves should be there. So, we'll have places to sleep. I made sure to pack lots of supplies like that." Carolina found herself chuckling, "Your preparedness never ceases to amaze me Wash." She meant to poke fun at him in a nice way but he didn't respond at all, like he was in his own world. She put her hand on his leg trying to establish a connection "Wash?" she said again not wanting to raise her voice again she decided to change tactics and with a softer voice, "David?" He jumped slightly, "Sorry," he brought a hand up to his head as if to rub his hair even though he had his helmet on. He realized she had her hand on his leg, she didn't move it and he was glad for it. "Are you ok?" Carolina knew the answer just didn't know if he would give her a straight one or not.


	7. Just 10 Minutes

Wash looked down. "Honestly Carolina? No, I've never been ok and I'm pretty far from it right now, and I'm not doing well about holding it together. There is just so much shit going on and the day isn't even done yet."

She was stunned. Wash had never been so blunt with her or so open about how he felt, she had never heard him so helpless. It was time, she repaid him for helping her on Illinois' island. Gripping his leg tighter, she nodded to the other side of the ship, "Look at them David, Caboose found us on his own and he's happy with a new AI friend. Tucker is alive and well and took my hit pretty damn well. He survived threatening freelancer headquarters and we are all together! The only people we are missing are the reds and it's just a matter of time until they find us and you know it."

Wash relaxed, letting his head rest against the wall of the pelican. He sighed, letting out a slight chuckle, "I never thought hard-ass Carolina would comforting me." Before she could take her hand off his leg to hit him for his comment, he slips his hand on top of hers, holding on to her with the same amount of force she was holding his leg. "Thank you, Carolina," he laughed again, "I seem to be saying that a lot today." She wasn't really holding out well herself, she was just doing what needed to be done. When she was done, then she would deal with everything that was going on inside of her head. "You know you can talk to me too right, Carolina?" It's like he knew she was jumping down her own rabbit hole, that's how they could tell when the other was in trouble they knew how it felt. "Thank you, that really means a lot."

York had been watching them the whole time while talking with Tucker. When he saw them hold hand he couldn't hold it back anymore, "Damn, that was fast." Tucker looked at him confused because it had nothing to do with the pilot chick he was telling York about. He followed his gaze to Carolina and Wash, "Oh, bout damn time. I can collect my money when the reds show up now. Score!" North looked at him funny, "Money?" Tucker cocked his headn "Oh yea, we all have a long-term bet on when and how Wash and Carolina are gonna admit they have feelings for each other or hook up. It had to be both because some of us didn't think they were capable of an actual relationship. I said it would take one of them having a near death experience. Sarge surprisingly gave a really long complicated, kinda sweet romantic gesture that Wash would do ending of course in a 21-shotgun salute. Donut said Wash would write something lyrical and sweep her off her feet. Caboose says Carolina will buy Wash a cat."

"He's always wanted one."

"Shut up Caboose!"

"I'm just saying it makes perfect sense."

"Griff thinks we'll just figure out they've been having sex just cause they got bored. Simmons freaked out and never made a bet because he couldn't handle the pressure. Then Lopez put $5,000 on...let me find it here he wrote it down for me. He only speaks Spanish so I had him write it down. The only reason I let him in the bet is because he had that much money." Tucker pull out a piece of paper, "Ah here we go...anyone know Spanish?"

York sighed raising his hand and taking the piece of paper from Tucker. While he still wasn't happy seeing Carolina with someone else especially the rookie, the fact that all of their friends had placed bets not on if but how and when they would get together it made him feel slightly more at ease for some reason. Maybe that something obvious had to be there for them to notice and be confident about to make such bets? Who knows, his job wasn't to psychoanalyze himself. He turned his attention to the piece of paper, the only reason he learned Spanish so well is to pick up chicks. He read the letter, "Knowing our fucking luck we will somehow be sent back in time. Either right before or right after one of them will be hurt causing them to worry about losing the other. Knowing this even when seeing old loves they will still cling to each other and hopefully with the blessing of the old loves they will be allowed begin their relationship. You make me hate my life. This is the obvious answer. Give me your money. Idiots." York just looked at Tucker dumbfounded and asked, "Who is this?"

"Oh that's the red's stupid Spanish speaking robot Lopez that can apparently see the future. Damn it...We lost Caboose, even with all our meddling"

"Aww we lost?" North just looked at them confused, "Meddling? You guys tried to hook them up?"

"No, no, no. That wasn't the question it was the how that was the question. Like Caboose kept showing Carolina cute pictures of kittens for sale, Donut tried to teach Wash calligraphy, which was hilarious by the way, meddling like that." York looked back at the note Lopez wrote and shook his head, a freaking Spanish robot made him feel better. He put the note in his armor before Tucker could grab it, "What the hell man!" Tucker screamed. York just shrugged, "I'm gonna make sure my little Spanish friend gets his money."

"Aw you suck monkey dick York, big fat monkey dick." York just laughed these guys didn't seem half bad.

They felt the pelican land and 479nr walked to the back, "Well we're here...in the middle of a box canyon." Caboose just jumped up and ran out the opened door, "Yay we're home! Where are our bases?" Wash sighed, letting go of Carolina's hand, gently patting it as he got up to go help explain things to Caboose. She couldn't help but laugh, baby sitting them was basically their job but those guys were something else in a fight though. She thought back to the fight on Earth, Wash had missed it but they were actually amazing, she had to remember to tell him about that later.


	8. Washington

Wash woke with a start. He reached underneath his pillow for a knife that he realized wasn't there and took a swing at the air. His fist fell to the ground. "Shit," he hissed, shaking his hand; he had been having nightmares long enough to prepare for this. Traveling alone it hadn't really been a bother, but there were a few crazy nights after he started living with Tucker and Caboose. Wash adapted to separate himself slightly and didn't sleep with weapons like York or North. He remembered Carolina going through the same problem when she came with them to the moon.

He glanced over to her makeshift bed, hastily created after they had brought the pelican into one of the caves. The blankets were empty. Looks like he wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep. Wash wrestled out of the sleeping bag and checked if her armor was still in the pelican. Much to his surprise, it was. Even on the moon she had still run around in armor.

After checking the rest of the caves and not finding any sign of her, he went out into the gulch. The sun hadn't even come over the horizon yet, but the sky had already started to turn more of a purple color, giving off enough light that he could see Carolina sitting on a cliff just beside the cave opening.

He climbed up the rocks, deliberately making enough noise to avoid startling her. When he gets to the top he sees that she hasn't budged. He pulled himself over the edge and stepped cautiously toward her, nervous that she hadn't noticed him yet. Despite how relaxed she'd become, she still never dealt well with people sneaking up on her. As he got closer he noticed the problem, stopped and smirked. Both ears were blocked by earbuds; she was holding his old iPod. He let her borrow it a couple times on Chorus, and she started stealing it after that. Ever since then it had been a cat and mouse game hiding it from each other - no matter where he put it she found it sooner or later.

He shook his head; what was he doing? His nerves were working overtime. He and Carolina hadn't been completely and utterly alone since the one year anniversary celebration of peace on Chorus. Everyone was immensely drunk that night, and there were… things that had happened. After that night he tried to avoid Carolina every chance he got, making up excuses to go make sure one of the guys wasn't destroying something, which was something he could check every five seconds and still miss something. When Dylan showed up and they decided to go looking for the other freelancers he focused on the mission. On Illinois' island he listened to her open up to him and they talked. He told her exactly what he thought and felt and conforted her. Remember what she said about York...maybe she would rather be with York than him now that he is alive and she has a second chance at a "fresh start".

Wash was conflicted. After hiding the pelican, unloading everything, and dealing with Caboose the night before, the group had decided not to talk about any plan of actions until morning. Washington didn't exactly want to be alone with Carolina just yet, but part of him wanted to talk to her before they talked to the others.

Sighing, he took a few more steps forward.

"I was wondering when you were going to talk, David." Wash almost jumped when Carolina suddenly spoke up.

"You knew I was here?"

"Yeah. It sounded like an elephant was trying to climb up the cliff. You think I turned the music up so loud I wouldn't hear _that_ coming?" A smirk could be heard in her voice; it was nice to hear, and he couldn't help but smile. He was caught, so he walked to the edge and sat down. Still slightly uncomfortable alone with her, he propped his leg up between them. If she noticed the tension, she didn't mention it.

After a moment, he held out his hand, asking for his iPod. He could hear her grumbling, causing him to laugh under his breath, but she complied. It was all in good fun and Wash felt the mood lighten considerably.

As he moved to put the device in his pocket, Carolina snatched it out of his hand. Wash turned and looked at her, dumbfounded. Something was off; every time he had caught her with his iPod, he asked for it back and she returned it without question.

He stared at her now though, and she met his gaze with those electric green eyes that seem to pierce right through him and know what he was thinking. She had a devilish smirk on her face - damn those lips. She knew he was avoiding her, and he knew he had been averting her eyes for too long. He made a mistake coming up here; his nightmare made him temporarily forget that night, but now the awkwardness was all he could think about.

"Wash, I know you've been avoiding me." That jarred him out of his inward self-chastizing.

"You did it for months on the moon. I thought you had gotten over it after all we have been through with the freelancer mission, Temple, going back in time, and then what happened on the ship. But that isn't the case, is it?" That's Carolina: straight to the point. Wash looked to the ground in embarrassment. Maybe he should just be honest with her and let her kick his ass for it.

He sighed, "Okay, okay," he took a couple more preparatory breaths; he did not handle stuff like this well. "What happened that night… that was a lot of pent up feelings and stuff. Honestly, since it was such a crazy party I haven't been sure how much of that was actually real or fun or what for you. Every time I think about it I feel so unsure, Carolina. That's why I've been trying my damnest to avoid you - which by the way on a moon is really freakin' hard. And when Temple locked us up? That was the hardest part. All I wanted to do was get all of this off my chest because the chances of us dying were pretty damn high. But I was too nervous. I told myself that somehow the Reds and Blues always pull through, and I tried my hardest to keep it together. Now York is back and I assume you want to be with him and that's perfectly fine. I know how much he means to you so I'm not going to get in your way." After he was finished he was breathing heavily, and he realized he had forgotten to breathe through the rant. "Now can we please talk about our next move? Cause we still have to unite York and North with Tucker and Caboose and the Reds when they show up, and have an actual idea about what we're doing next."

Carolina continued to stare at him, wide-eyed. Wash had no idea if he pissed her off or not but it felt good to just say it all anyway and start pushing toward some sort of goal. Just feeling her stare at him, though, was… unsettling. Just what was she thinking behind those green eyes?


End file.
